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So it's no surprise that a few buzzards have begun to circle around "Bob Patterson." Alexander is eager to shoo them away.

Joking recently about "the turmoil of this very troubled show," Alexander added that the new series "tested through the roof and has been put in an enviable (time) slot with a bunch of promotion.

"To my knowledge, a network doesn't do that unless they think they've got something. And all they looked at is the pilot we gave them. So if that's as troubled as we get, bring it on."

Alexander said the departed producer, Tim Doyle, wasn't involved in the creation of "Bob Patterson," a series idea that had kicked around for more than a decade.

Doyle, he said, had been added to the team at ABC's insistence because none of the other producers -- Peter Tilden, Ira Steven Behr and Alexander -- was an experienced sitcom show-runner.

"I'm fairly certain that Tim felt underutilized and like there was nothing for him to do," Alexander said. "He left without talking to anyone. I've never heard from Tim. . . There was no rancor, there was no bitterness. He just felt like there was nothing for him to do, so he went goodbye."

Alexander's anxiety over the perception that "Bob Patterson" is a "troubled" show is understandable. He watched from the sidelines as the same perception contributed to the failure of Richards' NBC show.

But in that case, at least, the perceptions were valid. "The Michael Richards Show" was a badly conceived stinker, in which Richards seemed uncertain whether he wanted to reprise or evade his old Kramer persona.

Alexander said he deliberately gave his own "Seinfeld" character, George Costanza, a long rest before embarking on "Bob Patterson."

Alexander has hardly been invisible since "Seinfeld" went out of production three years ago. He's done a few movies, including the Farrelly brothers' yet- to-be-released "Shallow Hal." He's been on "Hollywood Squares" and "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" and even guest-starred in "Star Trek: Voyager." He's done voice work and a smattering of theater, and is the latest KFC pitchman.

"If I could, I'd go back to the New York theater and work there," Alexander said. "But I have little kids" -- he and his wife Daena have two sons, Gabriel and Noah -- "and I can't do that. I sure as hell ain't a movie star, and I like working in this medium."

Alexander said he's also learned that George Costanza can never really be put to pasture because "Seinfeld" remains a huge success in syndication. There's simply no killing off George. On the contrary, Alexander says a piece of Costanza will live in "Bob Patterson."

"We purposely created Bob out of the ashes of George," he said. "We wanted to do a character that was going to be comfortable for the audience but that had some room to grow and some differences. That's the inception of Bob. He's meant to be a continuation, of sorts, of George."

Richer, though. The Patterson character is a self-help guru with an empire built on a best-selling book, "I Know More Than You." The continuing joke is that he doesn't really know much at all.

His relationship with his bohemian wife (Jennifer Aspen) is turbulent, his teenage son is an unmotivated idiot, and Bob is racked with insecurities about being short and bald.

The real Alexander might be feeling a little practical insecurity about his time slot. ABC has scheduled "Bob Patterson" for 9 p.m. Tuesdays, opposite a sitcom that's as enduring as "Seinfeld."

Alexander said that in May, ABC's two programming chiefs, Stu Bloomberg and Lloyd Braun, phoned him and said, "Congratulations, you're on the schedule."